The new kid on the block, Frank Ocean is all set to wow the audiences in different cities of the USA.
Hurricane Katrina caused Frank Ocean to leave University of New Orleans and move to Los Angeles in 2005 where he decided to pursue a career in music. He was interested in writing songs besides singing them. He was introduced to The MIDI Mafia, a recording label in 2008. He did some songwriting for established singers and was able to sign a contract with Def Jams. He has written songs for top singers like Beyoncé Knowles, John Legend, Justin Bieber and Brandy. However, Def Jams did not pay much attention to the young lad and so he was overlooked as a client with potential. This made him angry and therefore in protest he joined ‘Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All’, also known as OFWGKTA, more than a year later. OFEGKTA is a group of rappers and alternative hip hoppers who feature on mixtapes and on the albums of the group’s producer, Tyler.
After joining the collective,
Frank Ocean took another bold step and released a mixtape titled "Nostalgia ULTRA" by himself. He uploaded the album on internet and released it on his Tumblr page. It consists of songs which have been penned by Ocean himself and are based on the R&B genre of music. Some of the songs have borrowed beats from old classics such as "American Wedding" which is based on "Hotel California" by Eagles. Other beats that he has written songs over belong to Radiohead, MGMT, Coldplay and Mr.Hudson. He has done great justice to the classic beats by these artists and has gained the praise of Sean "Diddy" Combs and Lupe Fiasco. There are fourteen tracks in all which have very interesting titles like "Strawberry Swing", "Song 4 Women" and "Dust". Through these songs, he has tried to achieve some sort of a catharsis as they express his feelings regarding events of the past which have left a mark on his emotions. His songs revolve around topics such as relationships, personal thoughts and commentary on society.
The tape was launched in February 2011 and was not formally promoted. Despite that, it has received good reviews from the critics. Metacritic gave it eighty out of hundred. AbsolutePunk gave the mixtape a rating of 84%. Robert Christgau, a music critic, rated the album with an A. According to him,
Frank Ocean beats are subtle and seductive and convey a feeling of profound loss. Even The New York Times has praised it as being intuitive. It shows influences of melancholic mistrust that is characteristic of Drake and melodrama that is part of songs by the band, The-Dream. Other influential sources of the album that can be detected are Terence Trent D’Arby and Pharrell Williams. What makes it unique is its surreal quality that is soul-baring and yet at the same time subtle.
The singles of the mixtape which have given
Frank Ocean greater recognition among general public are "Novocane" and "Swim Good". "Novocane" was officially launched on May 31, this year and was produced by Tricky Stewart and Midi Mafia. It gained sixty-fifth position on the chart of US Billboard R&B in the first week of its release. It moved up seven points in the following week and gained the fifty-eighth position. It continued to climb up the chart. In the third week, it featured at the fifty-second spot. By the time it entered its fourth week, the song had reached No.48. It finally peaked at No.17 on the US Hot R&B/ Hip-Hop songs chart. A music video of the song has been released this summer in June. Another single of the mixtape that is wooing the audiences is "Swim Good" that peaked at No.70 on the list of US Hot R&B/ Hip-Hop songs.
Considering its success, Def Jam plans to re-launch it in the form of an EP. The EP will feature seven tracks and will be called "Nostalgia, LITE". The date of its release was set in July, 2011 but has been postponed to a future date. His lyrics and songs are making waves. His first tour performance was with OFWGKTA group members in May 2011.
Frank Ocean will be performing in a few more cities again later this year. He is the guy to watch out for as he has got immense potential. Buy your
Frank Ocean tickets and witness this new talent perform and take you by storm!
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